Wage Gap

Regarding the gender wage gap in the U.S, these videos articulate the statistical information regarding the wage gap and how it isn’t disappearing in continually progressive society. The argument made is valid and arrived at logically.

Premise

Men get paid more than women

On average a man makes a dollar to a woman’s 77 cents

Therefore women face discrimination

However the argument is factually incorrect, the wage gap is simply the average earnings of men and women working full time, it does not count for different job positions, hours worked or different jobs. It has nothing to do with the same job, that which viewers are led to believe.

The argument made is valid, and arrived at logically, as well as the conclusion being correct, but is statistically skewed and therefore factually incorrect, making the argument not sound either.

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One Response to Wage Gap

Good start here! You’ve selected and decoded a succinctly logical argument, and challenged its premises as “statistically skewed.” But I would like to push back on the idea that the appearance of discrimination against women (in this case in the form of the wage gap) in the workplace can be explained as a matter of preference, or choosing to work different jobs or different hours.

The Ontario Pay Equity Commission notes that:

“The gender wage gap is caused by many factors, such as:

— women choosing or needing to leave and re-enter the workforce in order to meet family care-giving responsibilities, resulting in a loss of seniority, advancement opportunities and wages
— occupational segregation in historically undervalued and low-paying jobs, such as childcare and clerical work
— traditionally lower levels of education (although this is becoming less of a factor as more and more women graduate from all levels of education)
— less unionization amongst female workers
— discrimination in hiring, promotion and compensation practices in the workplace.”

A few years ago, a Philosophy 12 student looked into the topic as well:

“Women are promoted to CEO’s less than men, because it is assumed they will not be hard enough on others and make tough decisions. Employers see hiring women as a risk, as they could get pregnant and go on maternity leave. Women are paid less than men for the same job and amount of work.”

While being paid 77 cents on every dollar for the same work is indeed a more specific form of discrimination, to know that across society women are less well-compensated than men would still constitute discrimination on a much larger (and likely more difficult to address) scale, wouldn’t it?